NatWest customer offended by Pride flags told to bank online
The customer, known only as 'Mr J', went into NatWest last July and was upset by the Pride materials on display.
He claimed that the paraphernalia distressed him both because of his disabilities and religious beliefs but NatWest refused to take them down. The bank pointed out most of the services he required could have been done online.
Mr J escalated his complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) in November, alleging the bank had failed to make adjustments required by the Equality Act 2010. The Act prohibits discrimination on a number of personal characteristics.
Investigators ruled in NatWest's favour, adding the bank offered 'multiple ways' for customers to carry out their banking which do not involve visiting a physical branch.
Ombudsman Danielle Padden wrote: 'NatWest is a bank that has chosen to display Pride materials along with other paraphernalia at certain times of the year. As a service, we wouldn't be able to tell them not to do that, as they are entitled to celebrate and raise awareness of the communities they serve.'
Ms Padden added: 'I'm not able to decide that NatWest have acted unfairly here. They have provided alternative methods of banking and are entitled to decide what materials they display in their branches at certain times of the year.'
To challenge NatWest's right to display Pride materials in its branches, Mr J would have to take them to court, the ombudsman said.
The FOS told Mr J that he could use ATM machines outside the branch or a Post Office nearby to avoid the paraphernalia, or that he could use telephone or online banking.
Records shared by NatWest showed that most of the activities he visited the branch to do between July and August 2024 could have been done online.
The bank said Mr J – who claimed he needed to visit the bank in-person – could appoint a third party to visit the branch while Pride materials are prominently displayed.
In the bank's 2024 annual report, it says that it 'celebrates Pride across the UK', and was ranked number 45 in the Top 100 Employers in charity Stonewall's UK Workplace Equality Index.
On its website, NatWest states that it aims to 'continue to deliver a better LGBT+ colleague and customer experience through continuously challenging the status quo.'
The rainbow 'Pride' flag was created in San Francisco in the 1970s, and has been adopted by pro-LGBT supporters worldwide.
In 2018, an updated version, known as the 'Progress Pride Flag' was designed by Daniel Quasar, with a chevron added to represent trans and non-binary people.
It comes after students at the Oxford Union refused to mandate the annual flying of the Pride flag in the month of June.
At a meeting of the Union's standing committee on May 5, president Anita Okunde said that the rule requiring the flying of the flag had mysteriously been removed.
But a motion to restore the rule, and to allow presidents to waive it in cases of national mourning, was rejected by seven votes to four, with critics fearing it would open a 'Pandora's box' of demands for other flags to be flown.
NatWest was contacted for comment.
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